Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

Because it addresses a lot of the problems that the Labor Party has been highlighting in recent years. It throws money at problems that have been identified and that the electorate is concerned about, but it does not seek to fix any of those problems. It does not resolve those problems; it throws money at them as a short-term fix because there is a large surplus. It throws money at those problems without really dealing with them.

You have to ask yourself: what has this done for climate change? What has this done for productivity? What has it done for the great need for new broadband infrastructure in this country? What has it done seriously for education, apart from the Higher Education Endowment Fund? What has it done to tackle the huge skill shortages and the huge need for further investment in education at all levels? Nothing. There is no strategy here.

The minister quoted Mr Chaney from the Business Council, but he did not quote what he said about the budget. People know there is no strategy here. They know there is no long-term approach to the major problems that confront Australian society. They know the government is tired; they know it is out of touch; they know it has run out of ideas. And the government’s response is to spend big and throw money, because that is its only way of hoping to convince the Australian electorate that it is worth being re-elected. The Australian electorate are very cynical about the government. They know that these are short-term fixes aimed to make them forget the failure to tackle the real issues.

In my portfolio, I am amazed. As shadow minister for resources and energy, I noted that the Treasurer never mentioned the resources boom, resources or mining in the whole budget speech. It is a sector that is contributing $55 billion this year to the growth of the economy and has added $300 billion to the economy over the last five years—and he did not mention it. Talk about a Melbourne-centric view of the world! He is in denial about it. The words ‘mining and resources sector’ will not pass his lips. The opposition know that a lot of that activity is driving our economy, but he is in denial about it and will not face up to the fact that he has failed to meet the challenges and use the mining boom resources and royalties to drive a long-term, strategic direction for our economy. He has failed to invest in climate change and failed to drive a more productive economy. This is a short-term fix. (Time expired)